The Government has begun preliminary work to establish a new road corridor between Bartica in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Timehri in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
The Minister for Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill and a team of technical personnel today examined the proposed route for the road. Former president and Prime Minister, Mr Samuel was also involved in the exercise.
The exploration of the route began with a short boat trip from Bartica to Foulmouth Dock on the Essequibo River, then along a logging route to the Makouria River, then to Sand Hills and Timehri.
Minister Edghill said the project would improve the commute between the coast and hinterland, by significantly reducing travel time, as commuters would no longer need to travel to Parika, then travel to Bartica, and vice versa .
Likewise, citizens will not have to travel to Linden, then on to Rockstone, through to Sherima Crossing to get a boat, and then make their way to Bartica. Both routes are long.
Minister Edghill said the project would complement a similar road link from Bartica to Parika. Eventually, that link will see a network stretching from Parika to Goshen and on to Bartica.
The Minister added that the project also ties in with other major infrastructure works such as the Schoonord alignment to Parika.
Like the other major roadworks, the Bartica-Timehri route will open up new lands, leading to increased opportunities for agriculture, commerce, housing and tourism.
Explaining the way forward, Minister Edghill said, “we will approach the drawing board with the co-ordinates. We will look at all the practicalities and of course the shortest possible route is what we will explore. We’ll probably have to get a geologist to do some soil testing to make sure we have materials at the closest point to building that road.
I would suspect that, within another five, six weeks after this trip, my engineers will be able to do some design and the money attributed in 2021 will start to break alignment. ”
Further, he said that a process will begin to determine the best option to facilitate boat crossings where the road ends at Timehri and Bartica sections.
Mr Hinds, meanwhile, played a key role in Wednesday’s exercise as he had an institutional knowledge of the route.
Mr. Hinds that the new road network is an important part of the Government’s development agenda.
“Development is a process that requires us to work on extending roads and infrastructure … This, I think, is a good step in the overall development of our country.”
The Guyana Defense Force provided support during the exercise on Wednesday.
This year’s budget provides $ 25.6 billion for road and bridge construction through the Public Works Administration. [Extracted and Modified from DPI]